Dec. 31st 2017

Posted on December 31, 2017

That was a year that was…

2017… Begun (as ended) on the finca with sis. Then back to NYC by mid-January for the rest of the winter – texts&beheadings mini-tour (including a women’s prison and the Cathedral of St. John The Divine), KGC at Westbeth, Wau-Wa @ Lethe Lounge, Vagabond reading in Norfolk VA, courtesy of the Duffy Institute for New Opera, and mixing and overdubs for Geography throughout… then back to the finca by early April for three and a half months of healing time – bliss. Time to plant and grow the huerto, and eat the fruits thereof… 4 weeks in the middle to myself while sis went back to deal with the last of her stuff at Startforth, time to write some, two visits from Jan to work on the libretto in preparation for the September meeting… back to the city by late july for doctor check-ups (all good)… august included a road trip up state with Beth C. – stellar – ending at Jack’s Creek – and house sitting in Tappan with the best speakers I’ve ever had to pleasure of listening to…

I had wanted to be back on the finca by October sometime, but work showed up – mirabile dictu – and I really wanted to get the CD finished before leaving… I launched a Kickstarter campaign for it, scary but very successful ultimately, and managed to have it in hand a week before I left in December… meanwhile I landed a big fat audio book recording that also financed a 2 week trip to cotherstone (see photos below) to check in with that part of the world and try and get the last of the vagabond writing done – unfortunately only half of the libretto revisions got to me in time – but at least I got those done… and 2 days before I did finally leave NYC (Dec. 11th) we did that crazy triple bill at The Kitchen – Forever Weird – Microscopic Kamikaze Passengers… seriously fun…

The past 3 weeks here have been the usual mixed bag but generally good – I was totally run down by the time I got here, so came down with a bad cold for a week, but not too bad – and pesha came for a week’s visit – always fun… I have 2 more weeks before heading back to NYC for the balance of the winter, to find out what’s up with the construction due outside my windows, and to prepare for the 2nd Vagabond workshop in mid-March (orchestral and piano/vocal score both due jan. 31st – help!!!)… I hope to be back here on the island soon thereafter…

2018? I want to go to Morocco – in April? I would like Orfeo to happen again in Italy… I would like to spend as much time as possible on the finca, but I would also like to get back to the west coast, maybe even do the road-trip/solo tour up the coast… Montalvo? gig the new recording? at least a relase gig, preferably in march, with greg, who said he might be in town then…

We have survived a year of Humpty Dumpty as president – if you can call it surviving… what a nightmare… the ramifications are so appaling I can’t look at them, I live like an ostrich… can we get rid of him? can we take back the senate in November? Let’s hope 2018 brings us all some sanity… along with health and prosperity… I am one of the fortunate few… but we are living in the end game…